Here's how Austan Goolsbee, a University of Chicago economics professor who is Obama's leading economic adviser, describes Obama's views on trade:
"I don't think he views himself as a protectionist," Goolsbee said. He said Obama favored expanding access to global markets through trade deals such as the World Trade Organization's Doha round so long as labor and environmental standards were in place.Obama has won labor support for his criticisms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, which he says he wants to amend.Goolsbee criticized the Bush administration for not enforcing existing trade agreements and bringing too few cases before for the WTO. Such cases would likely rise significantly in an Obama administration, he indicated. China, he said, was one example where a host of violations had been overlooked.The senator is also "very concerned" about the country's current account deficit with China and other nations."We have major imbalances with many parts of the world," he said. "This is naturally what happens when you're running huge deficits and the country doesn't have a lot of savings. You have to borrow the money from abroad. He's very concerned about that."
